Turbulent Waters

Jake Ford expects to join his family's third-generation construction company after earning his engineering degree. Instead, he finds himself sidelined. He takes a position as an assistant engineer on the Teton Dam, a massive project designed to irrigate 11,000 acres of arid farmland.

Anna Stone fights the dam's construction. She views the project as a direct threat to the Yellowstone Cutthroat trout and her family's fishing guide business. Jake and Anna meet on the river, and the initial attraction is undeniable.

The romance fractures when they discover their opposing ties to the dam project. They separate, only to be drawn back together. Just as they begin to navigate their differences, the Teton Dam suffers a catastrophic failure on June 5, 1976.

Anna watches a television broadcast and sees floodwaters sweep Jake's pickup truck downstream. She has no idea if he survived the surge.

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Author Edmond A Porter delivers a historical fiction romance set against the 1976 Teton Dam Collapse. Turbulent Waters explores the tension between human ambition and the forces of nature in Eastern Idaho. Jake Ford works as an assistant engineer on the massive earthen dam. Anna Stone fights to protect the local Yellowstone Cutthroat trout habitat. The Teton River brings them together, and the impending engineered disaster threatens to tear them apart.

This 20th-century historical novel brings the region's most devastating flood to life. Porter strips away the sterile statistics to focus on the human cost of the June 5, 1976 failure. The narrative captures the sudden terror of the 80-billion-gallon floodwaters and the resilience of the Rexburg community in the aftermath.

Turbulent Waters released on June 1, 2026, aligning with the 50th anniversary of the historic disaster.

The setting: eastern Idaho, June 1976

Turbulent Waters unfolds in the volcanic canyons of the Upper Snake River Valley, where the Teton Dam stood roughly 15 miles northeast of Rexburg. Porter renders the geography with precision — the canyon walls Jake surveys, the river Anna fishes, the agricultural communities of Wilford, Sugar City, and Hibbard that sit in the floodplain — because that geography becomes destiny on June 5, 1976. When the earthen dam fails, 80 billion gallons of water tear through the canyon and onto the plains below.

The novel stays close to the human ground level of the disaster: a pickup truck swept downstream, a television broadcast watched from miles away, the long week of mud and uncertainty that follows. For the full historical record of the collapse — the cause, the affected communities, and the 50th-anniversary commemoration — see The 1976 Teton Dam Collapse.

Fly Fishing and the Environmental Conflict

The Teton River provides the central battleground for the novel. Anna Stone represents a growing environmental movement in the 1970s, fighting to protect the fragile Yellowstone Cutthroat trout habitat. The conflict reflects real historical tensions in the region. The narrative details the local fly fishing culture, contrasting the quiet rhythm of the river with the heavy machinery reshaping the canyon. The river brings Jake and Anna together, and it is the resource that ultimately tears their worlds apart.

Engineering an Idaho Disaster

Jake Ford's role on the project highlights the technical ambitions of the era. The massive dam was designed to secure reliable irrigation for 11,000 acres of arid Idaho farmland. The novel explores the mechanics of earthen dam construction and the immense pressure placed on the engineering teams. By examining the disaster through the eyes of an assistant engineer, the story asks difficult questions about human hubris, the limits of infrastructure, and the consequences of attempting to control nature.

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Teton Dam Collapse

June 5, 2026 brings the 50th anniversary of the Teton Dam failure. Edmond A Porter scheduled the June release of Turbulent Waters to coincide directly with this historical milestone. He attended the City of Rexburg's Flood 50 commemoration and held a book signing at Brave Seeker Books in Rexburg on June 3.

For the full history of the disaster, the schedule of Flood 50 events, and details on meeting Edmond at the commemoration, see The 1976 Teton Dam Collapse.